XSP-1

[Axis]

Nov 2, 2014 19:35:32 GMT -5 novisnick said:

I can't say that I have ever heard the XSP-1!
I can't say that I've ever heard a P-6 by Rega
I realy can't say that I've ever heard any of my gear, except my Studio 100s.the LPs and other input,,,,,yes, but the gear, only the speakers!

And isn't that all were ever really supposed to hear.
I think great gear is invisible to the ear! The eye, not so much.

So glad you have a XSP-1 on its way, I think it sounds,,,,,,,,invisible,,,,he,,,,he,,,,,he,,,,,,(great). 8)

Nick a friend reminds me of this little bit of wisdom all the time and it applies to just about everything.

Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?

Curly: This. [holds up one finger]

Mitch: Your finger?

Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean sh**.

Mitch: But what is the “one thing?”

Curly: [smiles] That’s what you have to find out.

[novisnick]

Found it!

[grunta]

Well, having had the XSP-1 Gen 2 in my system for a couple of weeks now, here are my impressions.

Out of the box, I was impressed with the finish and fittings. I like the appearance and it seems well made.

Stone cold from the courier, hooking it up to my digital sources and Plinius amp, I was immediately struck by the smoothness of the sound, the black background and lack of treble bite, compared to my Audiolab 8200CDQ.

I was initially a bit concerned about the dynamics of the XSP-1, but, as other commenters have suggested, I think that this is the result of the complete absence of strain and grain. Certainly I can run my Chord Hugo quite hot into the XSP-1 without overloading the unbalanced input, and am now able to increase the volume to high levels while still remaining extremely listenable. Also very good at low levels.

Balanced inputs from digital sources give a very uncoloured neutral sound.

The Phono stage compares more than favorably with my dedicated Graham Slee Reflex M phono preamp, again with a very quiet backgound and very good left-right and depth of soundstaging.

HT bypass from my home cinema gear, again I get very good soundstaging from FL and FR, noticeable on background music and effects.

All in all I am very happy with the XSP-1, a bargain Pre at the current sale price.
I am glad I pulled the trigger!

Thanks again to Rob80b , Ludi and Gary for their encouragement to try phone ordering internationally (to UK).

cheers,
Grant

[rob80b]

Nov 17, 2014 16:20:12 GMT -5 grunta said:

Well, having had the XSP-1 Gen 2 in my system for a couple of weeks now, here are my impressions.

O................
cheers,
Grant

Hi Grunta

Glad it was worth the wait, yes the lack of treble bite takes a little getting used to, especially noticeable with CDs/digital...... the sound IMHO being much more analogue in nature, less solid state.............and agree that vinyl does indeed sound very good.

Robert

[grunta]

Nov 18, 2014 16:05:46 GMT -5 rob80b said:

Nov 17, 2014 16:20:12 GMT -5 grunta said:

Well, having had the XSP-1 Gen 2 in my system for a couple of weeks now, here are my impressions.

O................
cheers,
Grant

Hi Grunta

Glad it was worth the wait, yes the lack of treble bite takes a little getting used to, especially noticeable with CDs/digital...... the sound IMHO being much more analogue in nature, less solid state.............and agree that vinyl does indeed sound very good.

Robert

Hi Robert,

Yes a more analogue sound  is what I was hoping to achieve with the XSP-1... especially with my Hugo DAC which could sound a bit intense in the treble.
And the phono ability does seem to back up the measurements.

I have no real experience with high-end gear, but to me it does sound very good!

cheers,
Grant

[rtg97229]

Maybe my expectations are a little off but when I see a switch that says "Full Range" I assume that means just to the speakers. Apparently it also means full range to the subwoofers. The subwoofer options with HT bypass seem lacking so far.

[muzicianx]

Not sure what subwoofer HT bypass options you are looking for - the point is to completely bypass control from the XSP-1, and full control happens from the receiver/processor. The switches on the back of the XSP-1 are valid when using the XSP-1 as a preamp.

Here is the quote from the manual about the HT Bypass, "2. Home Theater Bypass Button When you press this button, the source connected to the Home Theater Inputs is routed directly to the Main Outputs on the XSP-1, bypassing all controls including the level control and bass management. The display will indicate Home Theater Bypass when this is active.(Conversion between balanced and unbalanced is still performed, and the XSP-1 must be On in order for the outputs to be active.)"

Hope this clears up any concern.

[muzicianx]

Just putting in my 2¢ on the XSP-1 - I've had it now for a month, and it seems to be doing it's job great. I have it paired with a XPA-200, powering MartinLogan Motion 40 mains, and attached to an HSU ULS-15 sub. Analog bass management works awesome, and the HT Bypass works as promised. The biggest surprise was the Phono stage - this is the best stage I've heard in my system so far. It's balanced really well with the other inputs, and is super quiet in the background (well, as quiet as vinyl gets...).

Maybe this has been mentioned before, but my only gripe is the HTBypass switching - when you push the button once, it goes to HTBypass, when you push it again it goes back to the previous input. The reason this sucks is if you go from say, Cable TV viewing, to Apple TV viewing, my Harmony One Remote activates the HTBypass button each time, and therefore must be reset in order to make it right. Definitely nothing not fixable by adding an extra button on the touch screen of the remote, but definitely an oversight IMO that should have been sought out in 'real-world' testing.

I hope to keep this set up in my system for years!

[novisnick]

Hello all!
My XSP-1 gen 2 is back home and in my system again.
I didn't realize how much I missed it!!! The Pre-1 is no slacker,,,,,,,,BUT!!!

I sure missed it very much. Bass management and all its glory are back in DA house, thank goodness.

Try owning one and letting it go on sabbatical for a month,,,,,,,,then plug it back in,,,,,my goodness, I didn't think that highly before it left but now,,,,,,,,

Hello My Precious!!!! 8)

Has anyone done this with the XMC-1 and a XSP-1? It would be nice to hear opinions on this matter.

I know, I know,,,,,who in their right mind would try this??? Any takers??

[garbulky]

Glad you got your baby back novisnick!

[novisnick]

Dec 27, 2014 23:48:26 GMT -5 garbulky said:

Glad you got your baby back novisnick!

Thanks garbulky, seems I'm going to be spinning a lot of vinyl in the morning!!!

I have the Pre-1 back in the other system, amazing how much better it sounds in a larger room.

[namikis]

Ernie-

Hi - I am new to the forum. Just ordered an XSP-1 and I think you mentioned having a Jolida phono pre. Is it a JD9? [that is what I am using now]  I am wondering in the XSP -1 phono section is good enough to replace the Jolida, so would be interested in your take (assuming you have tried it). I am using a MC cart, van de hul frog.

Thanks!

Nam

[novisnick]

Over the years I've used and heard the following phono pre amps, Yamaha, many,,,,Sherbourn Pre-1 and the Emotiva XSP-1.

I believe the XSP-1 is invisible, bringing only the music from the LP, it adds nothing, it detracts nothing. I think it's great because of this. Just .02 here. 8)

[jeffnyc]

Has anyone done a comparison of the DC-1 direct to amps vs through XSP-1?

[namikis]

I know some conversations in this thread have been around the XSP-1 vs the Parasound Halo P5. I decided to order one of each for comparison and have been testing them for a couple of days. Summary results so far: The Emotiva is quieter, adds less noise. I think the built-in DAC does not help the Parasound in this area. I can hear very slight hum with vol at noon (with no input signal) that I don't with the Emo. This is even worse on the phono section (using a MC van de hul cart). The phono section loading in the P5 does not have an close loading for my 500 ohm cart, so that may not help. On power turn off, I am getting more noise on the P5. To the p5's benefit, the sound is somewhat warmer, like it has a tubey vibe going, but loses detail in the process fir me in my setup. It feels as if the Parasound is a tad more aggressive on gain. On the build quality and looks department, the Emo mops the floor with the Parasound. Parasound has a proper tape loop, Emo provides a processor loop (not identical functionality).  Neither amp appears to be an imaging champ. Will do more testing in the next few days and report back anything new.

[namikis]

Jan 9, 2015 22:19:42 GMT -5 namikis said:

I know some conversations in this thread have been around the XSP-1 vs the Parasound Halo P5. I decided to order one of each for comparison and have been testing them for a couple of days. Summary results so far: The Emotiva is quieter, adds less noise. I think the built-in DAC does not help the Parasound in this area. I can hear very slight hum with vol at noon (with no input signal) that I don't with the Emo. This is even worse on the phono section (using a MC van de hul cart). The phono section loading in the P5 does not have an close loading for my 500 ohm cart, so that may not help. On power turn off, I am getting more noise on the P5. To the p5's benefit, the sound is somewhat warmer, like it has a tubey vibe going, but loses detail in the process fir me in my setup. It feels as if the Parasound is a tad more aggressive on gain. On the build quality and looks department, the Emo mops the floor with the Parasound. Parasound has a proper tape loop, Emo provides a processor loop (not identical functionality).  Neither amp appears to be an imaging champ. Will do more testing in the next few days and report back anything new.

Wait - I may end up disagreeing with myself.  I pulled the XSP-1 and reinstalled the P5. Slight noise aside the bass management in the P5 is superior to the Emo's.  crossover points can be set 30 hz lower,  front control of the sub.   Somehow the phono noise on MC is not back when I reinstalled it.  Will need to do more testing... 

[leonski]

I might add that while the DAC section of the P5 did NOT get a 'state of the art' review in Stereophile, it IS quite serviceable AND does wonderful with the Opticla from my Small Dish TV receiver. Doing away with ANOTHER potential ground-loop issue is just a bonus.

The Front Panel iPod input is a GEM. It has maybe 14db additional gain and the whole rig flawlessly reproduces the MP3-160 files.

And the sub front panel control is LEVEL ONLY, which is fine by me. If I touch it more than once-a-month, I'd be surprised.

[leonski]

OH! with a 'blank' input selected, I can turn it up all the way with near-zero noise. I'm guessing that at normal listening levels, noise is 80db+ down. I'd like to suggest namikis check his interconnects, ESPECIALLY if the noise is louder on one channel.
I also have a very good Panamax Power conditioner and the P5 is powered thru the 400va Isolation Transformer.

[Boomzilla]

I'd like to see Emotiva try a tubed version of the XSP-1... I know they've kind of targeted an "entry level" tube preamp first, but I think that their "high-end" tube preamp (if it ever happens) would be the one I'd like to hear. Until then, I'm unlikely to let go of what I've got. The thing that struck me most about the XSP-1 was how much it "opened up" in the treble after a couple of weeks of use. I'd initially thought that the preamp wasn't too extended sounding, but either the preamp "broke in" or my ears adjusted, because it sounds really open now.

Is anyone using the XDA-2 with their XSP-1? I happen to have a loaner XDA-2 from member RightinLA sitting here in a box... How does this combo sound compared to an Oppo feeding the XSP-1 directly?

OTOH - I may not be able to use the XDA-2 - It doesn't have an ethernet input and will be unable to use the DNLA transfer that my Oppo can. The only other way for me to use the DAC would be to run the optical output from my Airport Express (not currently in the signal chain) into the optical input of the XDA-2.

Should I expect better, worse, or no difference in digital transfer using the TOSLINK vs. DNLA over ethernet?

[swissie]

I'm using a XDA-2 and XSP-1 combination. I listen to internet radio using a digital Radio output into the XDA-2 (Coax 1) plus my CD collection using a digital output from an ASUS Notebook into the optical input of the XDA-2 (Opt 1) . I've never had a problem with either source into the XDA-2 and am very happy with the detail provided by both sources (of course the radio stations used are all above 128 kbps). After reading about all the trouble people have with USB solutions, I'm so pleased I used the digital output from my notebook. It never misses a beat, whatever I do, the music just plays on.